A Rose By Any Other Name
by mystikquill
Summary: The first part of a two story saga about the war in the magical world. Post-Hogwarts by two years.
1. Default Chapter

The office was busy as any normal Monday morning would be. Papers were piling up on Hermione's desk in the 'Crime Investigation' section. She let out a huge sigh as a stack of papers about three inches thick landed right in front of her computer.  
" God I hate Mondays," said Hermione massaging her forehead with the heel of her hands.  
" So do I, but doesn't everybody," someone interrupted Hermione's apathetical episode. She looked up to see a very familiar face; it was Harry Potter.  
" Oh, hey Harry," Hermione stared up at Harrys lightly toned muscles, and thought back to what had happened the night before. Ok, so they'd had a little fling. After all, they had both entered the same profession after Hogwarts; they were Aurors. Hermione worked in an investigation department, and Harry tackled the more hands on stuff.  
" So, are you doing anything tonight?" Harry asked trying to act casual. Hermione looked down at her pile of work and then back up at Harry.  
" I think I'm going to have to work late tonight. I'm sorry," she said. Harry looked slightly disappointed, but improvised.  
" Well, do you want to go get lunch?"  
" Sure. Let me finish up with this, I'll be ready in about a half an hour, okay?" she replied. She quickly finished with her work and headed out into the busy streets of muggle London with Harry. As they entered the small Italian resturaunt, the smell of garlic and marinara sauce became overpowering. The waiter seated them and Harry felt inclined to start the conversation.  
" So," he attempted pathetically.  
" So," Hermione mocked him while thumbing through the slightly drenched menu. Harry tapped his fingers on the greasy table and gave one last attempt to start a conversation.  
" Works been stressful lately hasn't it?"  
" Yea, I can definitely say that," said Hermione while popping a couple of aspirin. They both sat in silence until the waiter came back. They ordered their food, and then Hermione was tempted to talk first.  
" Have you heard anything from Ron lately?" asked Hermione. She had barely heard anything from the third member of their trio since leaving Hogwarts. Harry looked up and briefly shook his head. Hermione couldn't help but sense that Harry didn't really care about Ron, so she decided to question him.  
" Have you written him at all? I've tried, but all my responses seem to be the same. ' Hope you're doing well, Hermione. Talk to you soon.'" Hermione mocked Ron's letter. Harry looked up with the same vacant expression as he had before.  
" I haven't been in touch with him," he said bluntly, and quickly changed the subject " But I did hear that Seamus Finnigan was accepted onto a local quidditch team,"  
" That's really great," Hermione said apathetically. Harry saw her disappointed expression and tried to cheer her up.  
" Aw, it's ok Hermione. I'm sure Ron's fine,"  
" Yea, he probably is. I'm just worried," she said. So they ate their lunch and shortly after headed back to work. The afternoon seemed endless to Hermione, and she finally escaped her work at five o' clock. She started towards the metro station and stopped at a bagel shop on the way. As she came out, she spotted a single beggar sitting on the steps of a vacant house. He was dressed in a grungy t-shirt and old baggy jeans with holes in the knees. His hair was long in front of his face and he kept sweeping it out of his eyes. His eyes, something seemed so familiar about them. She approached him to donate money and see why he seemed so familiar.  
" Hello," she greeted him. She handed him five pounds and started to examine him.  
" Hello, Hermione," the man said. Hermione jumped back, and realization suddenly dawned on her. There was no mistaking that voice, the one that had criticized her time and again. It was Draco Malfoy. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 02  
  
The girl he had made life hell for at Hogwarts was standing right in front of him. He didn't know how to react to her. He didn't want her to see him on the streets, holding on to life by begging for money. He was once destined for riches and power, and he had thrown it all away. He didn't need her comments, he knew how she would insult him. At least, that's what he would do if he was her.  
She didn't even recognize him until he spoke to her. He sat on the vacant steps that he had adopted as his home, with Hermione standing right in front of him. Her expression was completely legible. It was a mix of curiosity, anger, stubborness, and shock.  
" Draco Malfoy?" she finally managed to form some words. He brushed his hair off of his face which was rather rugged from not being shaven in a while.  
" Surprised?" he asked sarcastically.  
" Uh, what are you doing here? I mean," she stopped herself before insulting him too much, which he was surprised by.  
" Yes. The great Draco Malfoy, destined for money and power, living in the streets and alleys of London," he voiced the thoughts that were obviously in Hermione's head. She only seemed able to stumble out one question.  
" Why?" A small grin appeared on Draco's face.  
" Maybe if you got me something to eat I would explain. As you can see, I'm very hungry,"  
So Hermione led Draco down to the nearest fish and chips shop and watched as he ravaged the food she bought him. She had never expected to see him this way before. What could possibly have happened to him that he would end up here? Once he had finished Hermione started asking him questions.  
" So, how did you end up on the streets?"  
" Family problems," he simply stated.  
" Like what?" she asked curiously.  
" Let's just say, I rethought my path,"  
" So you ended up on the street?" she asked.  
" Evidentally, my father didn't like the fact that his only son didn't want to become a death eater," Draco said, with no regard to the muggles surrounding them that could overhear. Hermione was shocked that Draco wouldn't want to take the path that was placed before him. It promised him riches and power for the rest of his life.  
" So, why did you do it? Choose not to be a death eater i mean,"  
" I'd rather not talk about it," he said while getting up from the table " Thanks for the food,"  
He started to walk out of the chip shop, but Hermione followed him quickly.  
" Wait," she called out when he was halfway down the block. He turned around and waited as she came bounding up towards him.  
" I said thank you, what more do you want?"  
" Well, I was just thinking. It's really cold on the streets at this time of year, and you like you could use a place to stay. Why don't you come stay at my place for a few days," she couldn't beleive the words coming out of her own mouth. She was inviting Draco Malfoy into her home. The guy that never stopped making fun of her in Hogwarts, the son of a death eater. He looked rather shocked too.  
" I don't think that's such a good idea. You know we have our differences," he said, and turned around to start walking back to his steps.  
" Draco!" Hermione called after him " Please! I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for my guilty-consience." Draco turned around and walked back towards her. She knew a Slytherin would respond to an offer proposed like that.  
" So, where do you live?"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The moon shone brightly on the grass, sparkling from the earlier rain. A temple lay on top of a small hill. Dark figured with cloaks on surrounded the area, as if guarding it. Inside, was the most powerful wizard ever to live.  
" Call in Lucius," the wizard commanded to a guard at the right of him.  
" Yes, master," said the guard sheepishly, and went to retreive the person called upon. A tall strong looking blonde man entered the room and bowed to the great wizard in front of him.  
" You called, master," said Lucius Malfoy.  
" Where is the boy?" asked the powerful wizard.  
" He is with a mudblood," Lucius spat.  
" Ah. I need him now. Call him to me, there is much work to do,"  
" But master," Lucius pleaded.  
" I know you have you're problems with him, but that is irrelevant now, we need him. He is the most powerful weapon in this war."  
"Yes master." Lucius bowed and headed back out into the night, ready to retrieve the boy he had had problems with for so long. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 03  
  
  
  
So the sun set and the moon rose, and Hermione sat on her balcony watching the sun rise and the cycle begin for yet another day. The streets of muggle London were just beginning to stir and the sounds of people walking to their early jobs could be heard from the fourth floor of Emerald Square, Hermione's apartment building. She looked out onto the urban settings and closed her eyes, imagining she was in some place far away. Far away from her job at 'Crime Investigation', or London.   
  
" Good Morning," and voice from behind her yawned. She turned around to see Draco Malfoy, stretching in his boxers.  
  
" Sleep well?" she asked uninterested.   
  
" Yea, your couch is much more comfertable than a staircase," he replied taking a sip from a cup of coffee. Hermione rose from her lawn chair and re-entered her apartment, brushing past Draco as if trying to ignore him.   
  
" Where are you going?" he asked.   
  
" I don't think it's any of your business, but if you must know, I'm going to a place that normal citizens call "work". Maybe you've heard of it?"   
  
" Well, someone's a bit pissy this morning," Draco remarked.  
  
" You live under my roof, you're going to have to put up a better attitude than that," Hermione spat at him, " I'll be back at five o'clock." With that she left the house and Draco feeling quite satisfied about her attitude this morning. She finally had a chance to pay back all the cruel snobbishness that she had received from him a few years earlier, and it felt great.   
  
As she headed down the busy streets of muggle London, she noticed something different about the air today that she just couldn't point out. She stopped at her usual bagel shop and then merged back onto the path she took to work. She found herself staring up at the sky. It was the strangest color she'd ever seen, like some color bomb had exploded. She was so concentrated on the sky that she didn't notice the dark hooded figure about to run into her.   
  
" Hey!" she shouted as she was knocked to the ground. She looked up to see a oddly familiar looking man dressed in a dark cloak. He bent down and whispered in her ear,  
  
" Watch where you're going, Miss Granger." Then before Hermione had a chance to speak, he was gone, leaving Hermione to herself wondering where she had seen that man before, and how he knew her name.   
  
Hermione spent the rest of the day in a daze at work. Completing everyone's tasks and forgetting completely about the pure blood wizard in her house or the dark hooded figure that she had run into this morning. At five o' clock she was greeted by the familiar voice of Harry,  
  
" Working hard today, Mione," Harry acknowledged.  
  
" Yeah," she replied, evidentally not in the mood for small talk.   
  
" So, would you join me for dinner tonight?" he asked casually. Hermione met his gaze, exhausted, but felt that she could not blow him off again.  
  
" Of course," she said with a fake smile.   
  
" Ok then. I'll pick you up at seven, is that alright?"   
  
" Sure." she replied. They both said goodbye and Hermione headed home. She entered her apartment and was immediatley greeted by the familiar smell of snickerdoodles baking in the oven. She was about to call out to Draco when he stepped out of her kitchen with a couple of mugs of a famliar liquid that brought Hermione back to her days at Hogwarts.  
  
" Butterbeer?" he asked casually, handing her a mug. She took it and as she took a sip a dozen memories floated back to her mind. She closed her eyes in ecstacy and then abruptly floated back to the present.   
  
" Am I smelling snickerdoodles?" Draco nodded and explained,  
  
" I had nothing else to do, so I got carried away," Hermione chuckled and then caught a hold of herself.   
  
" Well next time, would you mind asking before you go destroying my house with that awful smell?" Draco looked taken aback and quickly took back her butterbeer.   
  
" What is wrong with you? Why the hell did you offer me a place to live if you're going to be this bitchy? If you hadn't noticed, Hermione, I'm not the same Draco I used to be," Hermione stared in disbelief. She had no idea what to say.  
  
" Draco, you made life hell for me at Hogwarts-"   
  
" Yeah, I'm sure I did. I gave up all my riches, all my power, to live on the streets of muggle London. There is not one drop of the old Draco left in me. I sacrificed my whole life for everyone elses, so don't give me that bull. I deserve to be put on a bloody throne,"   
  
Hermione stared blankly at Draco for the longest time. It seemed like a neverending awkward silence. Eventually she broke the silence with a pathetic gesture,  
  
" Draco, I'm really sorry," She reached her arm out to his shoulder but he backed away quickly.   
  
" Maybe I should go," he said turning away and heading towards the door, " I've only caused trouble here,"  
  
" Draco, no, I didn't mean-"   
  
" Goodbye Hermione." he turned away and sped out the door, leaving a torn Hermione Granger to sulk in her guilt. 


End file.
